Different!
by SonAmyUniverse
Summary: "I wish it were different!"- Another version of Walls Could Talk. Completely different story than the other one. Hey Arnold!
1. Chapter 1

"I wish it were different!"

Chapter One

A Walk In The Park

Arnold is sitting down in the park having a picnic with Gerald, Phoebe, and Lila. They talk about heading to the beach for the first week of Summer Break. Helga is sitting on the other side of the park while reading a book and drinking a smoothie. The three of them are not talking to Helga because of the prank she pulled on them at school. But Helga decided to give up apologizing because they won't listen.

Lila- "So what time are we leaving again?"

Gerald- "That would be 8 A.M."

Phoebe- "Ooh! I'm sure looking forward to this trip! I can hardly wait!"

Arnold- "It's going to be great guys! I just know that we'll have a blast."

Gerald- " Yup! And the best part is…." (Grins)

Arnold- "That we'll be thousands of miles away from-"

At the beach

All of them- "HELGA!?"

Helga:*freezes and looks at them**raises her brow* "Take a picture you guys. It'll last longer."

All of them: "…."

(Walls Could Talk Opening)

Gerald: "Well well well...if it isn't Miss Sorry…" *smirks*

"Care to fake your apologies again?"

Arnold: *crosses his arms* "It's no use Gerald. She's just going to be Helga no matter what."

Phoebe: "I completely agree." (Glares at her)

Lila: *shakes her head* "I'm oh so certain that I'm very disappointed in you Helga."

Gerald: "What a fool-"

Helga: *Clenches her fists and shuts her eyes tightly* "You know what! I don't even care anymore! Don't believe me, that's just great. I apologized a thousand times. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm sorry for everything? I give up! Do whatever you want to. Be mean to me for the rest of my destroyed life. I almost lost my father, my mom is tired, and my sister is away! There's no use being myself anymore cause no one listens to me. But there's no fool in any bone in my body. I make all A's, I'm the best poet in the 5th Grade, and I'm very good at math and science! Heck, you might as well know I'm Phoebe!" *Throws pink bow on the ground* "So good day MATES!" *Walks up the stairs to the back of her beach house and sits down on the terrace*

Lila: "I think we should go somewhere else…"*sigh*

Phoebe: "Yeah…"(Follows Lila to the photo booth)

Gerald starts to follow behind, but then looks back at Arnold.

Arnold is staring down at the bow on the ground. He has a confused look on his face.

Gerald: "Hey bud! You coming with us?"*smiles*

Arnold: "I...I'll catch up with you...I just need some time…"

Gerald gives him a confused look.

"O.K...but come along soon, or you'll miss the fun. The summer festival begins at 6. Don't be late."

Arnold and Gerald do their secret handshake.

"Don't worry, I'll be there."

Gerald runs off to catch up with the girls.

Arnold looks up at where Helga is. Then, he is shocked to hear Helga's dad talk to her.

Bob: *Puts a hand on her shoulder* "Are you alright peanut?"

Helga: *sigh* "Yeah dad...I'm just peachy."

Bob gives a thoughtful look to his daughter.

*Sighs* "It's that bad...huh?"

Helga: "Dad I'm scared...I get this sick feeling to my stomach knowing that they hate me. They just won't listen to me! I tried apologizing, but no luck. I don't know I just feel a little-

GAH!"

Helga runs to the bathroom and starts throwing up.

Bob stands behind the door with a worried expression on his face.

"Will you be alright pumpkin?"

Helga talks behind the door.

"Yeah dad! I'll be *BLEH* f-fine…I promise."

"You going to the festival?"

"Maybe...but who'll take me?"

"I can call up Olga, if it's fine with you."

"Sure. Why Not?"

Helga opens the bathroom door.

"Thanks dad."

*Hugs him tightly.*

"You're welcome hon. And your mom will be up to go out to a restaurant with me later. Are you okay with Olga watching you for tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay with it. Have fun with mom, and don't do anything that could get you into trouble."

Silence

Then Helga and her father started bursting into a fit of laughter.

Bob: "Yeah right!"

Helga: "Well...at least give it a shot?"*smiles*

Bob: "Okay...but normally you like danger...no offense."

Helga: *chuckles and shrugs* "Eh...why would I be offended by a compliment?"

Bob: *smiles and pats Helga on the head* "Thata girl."

"Well, I'm gonna go and wake up your mother so we can get going."

BEEP BEEP!

Helga and her Dad jolt up and run to the front patio in a dash.

They both throw their arms around Olga.

Helga: "Olga! You came! I missed you!"

Dad: "You're just in time to go to the festival with Helga!

Remember, we're counting on you two to take care of yourselves, while we go out to have dinner. We'll be back tomorrow! We love you!"

Mariam: *walks out wearing a red dress* " Ready to go honey?"

Bob: "Yeah! Let's get going."*opens door for her*

Mariam: "I love you Helga and Olga. Be good, and have fun!"*kisses their foreheads and gets in car*

Helga and Olga: "Love you too mom."

They wave as they watch them drive off.

Hiding behind a wall, Arnold was listening to them the entire time.

(This is crazy! I can't believe she was telling the truth this whole entire time. She just needs someone she can talk to.)

He looks down at his feet and then glances over to his friends.

They were all laughing while taking photos.

(Her dad loves her, and they truly bond after all. Hmm...I shouldn't tell Gerald about this, I might as well keep this a secret. I'll talk to her at the festival, just a friendly talk.) *half smiles and runs off*

Olga: "We need to get you ready!"

Helga: "Erm...I guess...but what do I wear?"

Olga: "I got it!" *pulls out yellow laced hoodie, red shorts, and brown sandals*

Helga: "I love it!"*puts it on*

Olga: "Now to fix your hair!"

Helga: "W-what's wrong with my hair?"

Olga: "Helga, it's the beach silly! Let your long hair loose, it's beautiful."

Helga: *smiles* "Okay if you insist..."

She unties her pigtails, and Olga starts combing through her hair gently while singing.

Helga: *smiles to herself*(Oh...brother)

5 minutes later.

Olga finishes Helga's hair.

"Done!"

Helga stands up and looks in the mirror.

Helga: *smiles* It looks nice.

Thanks Olga.

*Hugs her*

Olga: "Anything for my baby sister." *Smiles*

She then looks a little concerned.

Olga: "Hmm...I think there's something missing…"

Helga:"Really? What is it?"

Olga: "Your...bow…"

Helga frowns while looking at the ground. "L-listen...can I go the way I look without the y-ya know…b-bow?" *sighs*

Olga nods in understanding. "It's okay Helga, you don't have to put it on if you don't want to. Let's get going!"

Helga: "Alright!"*runs out the door*

(Phew...I never want to hear the word bow ever again)

At the festival

Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, and Lila were sitting down in an ice cream parlor that was at the carnival. They were laughing and telling stories about embarrassing moments they've had. Arnold was laughing hysterically, and he didn't even notice that his arm was around Lila. Lila noticed for a second, but she didn't bother to move away. Even though she knew that she didn't like-like him. She was also starting to become Phoebe's best friend and they had fun conversations. Gerald was also laughing with them, with his arm around Phoebe.

But then…

Helga saw all of them, when she walked in with her sister.

Her sister didn't take long to notice.

"Hey Helga! Aren't those all of your friends sitting at the table?"

*Looks at Arnold with his arm around Lila* "Actually...I don't know where my old friends went. Because those guys over there, are nothing compared them. But...I mean...let's just order some ice cream! Don't worry about it...It doesn't even matter anymore."

Olga smiled sadly to her little sister. "Okay Helga. But there's one thing I need to say about all of this."

"What?"

"This is a normal thing that happens to people your age. Friends start to drift apart. The only reason you were the one that drifted away first is because you were afraid you'll lose them. You probably let all your anger out on them because you trusted them enough to handle it. And you know why?"

"...why?"

"They're the ones who've been there for the majority part of your life."

"Oh…"

"Jeez Olga...that was...DEEP." Helga said as she leaned over the table.

Olga gave her a ["Yeah right" face while giggling].

"Yeah right Helga! You're even deeper than the black hole that's about to take the life out of the universe. "

"Good point… I guess." *rubs the back of her neck while giggling sheepishly*

Helga glances out of the side of her eye to look at her friends.

Lila was talking to Phoebe like best friends.

Arnold and Gerald were laughing like normal friends would do.

And then she saw something she thought would change her life for good.

She saw her beloved kissed...Lila upon the lips!?

Helga's heart snapped right before her eyes. Her tears started to well up in her eyes, but luckily she found an excuse to get away into another part of the fair without Arnold seeing her sad at all. She wasn't going to fall off the face of the Earth just because he likes another girl, and she's making best friends with her ex BFF and Gerald.

That's where….the ICE CREAM came along. IT SAVED HER.

And Here's How.

The waitress came over to their table, and gave them 2 huge scoops of chocolate ice cream. Helga smiled to herself. "Hey Olga?"

"Yes baby sis?"

"Wanna play freeze tag?"Helga gave a mischievous grin to her sister. Then she jerked her thumb towards Arnold and his friends and motioning her head to get Olga to follow along with the plan. Olga knew what she was trying to do, and she played along.

"Sure! I can't recall the last time we played this ga-"

Helga dove in and "accidently" tripped, while her free hand "somehow" made her push Olga's ice cream all over her chin. Olga was shocked for second, and narrowed her eyes playfully over to her sister.

"woooopssss!"Said Helga while she started to whistle like nothing happened.

"Oh-huh-ha! You wanna piece of me sista!?"She said as she stood up.

Helga still had her ice cream in her left hand, and started to lick off of it.

"MMM….Try and CATCH me SANTA!" she said while running out the door past Arnold and his friends while licking the ice cream.(YES! VICTORY! HA! Bet they didn't see that one coming!) she thought.

And the best part of it was…

Olga dived straight through the store window. Good thing she opened it.

With a….

Ya know.

Er…

Crowbar.

I don't own Hey Arnold!


	2. Chapter 2

AFTER THAT...the whole room was laughing hysterically, and was betting on who was going to win. But Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, and Lila were all sitting with shocked looks on their faces. A few classmates decided that they want to play along with Helga.

With Helga.

She felt way much better and free while frolicking across the beach, trying to escape from her older sister. The sky was in a beautiful sunset, and it may have been windy, but it was perfect. Everyone was running around, tagging each other while laughing. Helga turned her head to see Olga charging towards her.

"AH!" She screamed. Not just because of her sister, but someone pushed her out of the way into the sand. It all seemed blurry to Helga as she still had her eyes covered with her hands. Helga mumbled, " Okay Olga...you win." But when she uncovered her eyes, her vision returned to normal. Helga's breath caught in her throat when she found out who pushed her. "ARNIE?" She yelped. Arnie smiled at her with half lidded eyes. "Sorry Helga. I didn't mean to push you out of the way that hard."

He helped Helga onto her feet.

She dusted the sand off of her clothes. "What are you doing here Arnie? I thought you lived in the country."

"I do, but sometimes during vacation, my parents let me hang here at the beach. It's nice here isn't it?"

"Yeah I think-Arnie?" *pauses*

"What? Is something wrong?"

"Yeah! You're not snorting."

"Ah, so you've noticed." He smiles.

*Helga's draw dropped slightly.* "But...how...when did you-?"

Arnie held onto her shoulders, causing her to blush bright red.

"It's okay Helga. The answer is plain and simple. The truth is...I'm nothing like the Arnie you thought I was."

Helga raised a brow. "Huh?"

"I was faking. I'm actually an adventurous, all about danger kind of guy. I'm smarter than you think. I made everyone think I was a whole different person. But yet it stinks having to be him, because I feel as if I lost myself. How am I supposed to know if anyone would ever like the real me? I'm insecure, just so you know." Helga stared at him in awe. "You know what Arnie? You and me just might get along very well." Arnie smiles and laughs in relief. "Phew. I was hoping for that." Helga giggles and playfully punches him in the shoulder. "Wanna hang out with me and my sister?"

Arnie smiles back at her with half lidded eyes. "Sure." He took a hold of her hand, and ran with her back to her older sister.

Meanwhile, Arnold had an ice cream cone in his hand with a confused, yet rather jealous look on his face. Harold walked over to where Arnold was standing.

"Aww...is wittle Arnold feeling jealous that his cousin got his girl?"

Arnold gave him a dark glare. "Arnold I feel so bad for you! First he steals Lila, and now he likes Helga too. Twice in a row!"

SPLAT! *Arnold planted the ice cream onto Harold's face and ran away.*

*Harold removed the ice cream from his face, and walked over to Gerald*

"Dude...what's wrong with your friend?" Gerald sighs. "I really don't know these days. Arnold's not really one to talk about his own feelings to his friends. He'd rather hide them. Just give him some space. He'll eventually come around. He couldn't stay mad at anyone for long, unless he has a really GOOD reason to."

"Well...what about Helga?"

"Everyone's mad at Helga. Even her BFF is."

Stinky walks over to them. "If I may interrupt, Phoebe was her only best friend."

Gerald crosses his arms and gives him an incredulous look. "How do you know?"

"She told me when we were together. She said that it was okay she only had one friend, since Phoebe would always be the greatest best friend she could ever have. To know that they've split up, I reckon that it's the most darn tragic story I've ever heard. Did you know that if you spend a lot of time with Helga, she's just like Phoebe? The girl makes really high grades! I find her awesome, even when she's mean. Well I gotta run! I'm going over to the carnival, you guys wanna come?"

Gerald nods in agreement. "Sure, I'll just go and get Phoebe."

"I'm game. Let's go! I'm starving!" They wait until Gerald gets Phoebe, and they all go to the carnival."

On the seashore, the festival has just ended. Helga and Arnie are walking in the sand, while Helga is holding a stuffed giraffe Arnie won for her.

"May I ask you a random question Helga?" He turns to look at her.

"Sure…"

"How did you meet my cousin?"

Helga stopped walking and went back again.

"Who?"

"Arnold."

"Hmm...that name doesn't ring a bell." She put her hand up to her head.

"Oh c'mon. Don't play dumb like that...you know exactly who I'm talking about. And...I know you went out with him once. I saw you two that day at school."

"What the heck?! We never went out! Impossible! We were just hanging out, as friends, that's all!" She blurted.

"Jeez...calm down. It was only a simple question...that- WOW...haha. It still hasn't been answered yet." He chuckled.

"Are you sure you want to hear this Arnie?" She said under her breath.

Arnold was walking by when he hid behind a rock to listen to their conversation.

"Positive." He replied.

*Sighs* "Okay...it was back in preschool….I was ignored by my family on the first day of it. All they 'used' to care about was how great a daughter Olga was to them. They had no free time to focus on me. So...I walked to school all by myself with my lunchbox in my hand. It started to rain, and the ground was all muddy. As a car passed by, I got splashed with a ton of mud. Then, this greedy dog came by and stole my lunch away from me. I felt all alone in the world until...your cousin had the guts to show up. He saw I was drenched and helped me into the school, while covering me with his umbrella.

"I like your bow because it's pink like your pants." Is what he said to me. I felt so happy and relieved, knowing that I wasn't alone after all. When Harold stole my crackers from me in the cafeteria, I thought I would go hungry. Then, your cousin gave me his. This may sound a little crazy but...after that...I was head over heels in love with that guy! Everyone saw that I liked him, and started to bully me about it, so...I snapped from embarrassment. Of course I didn't want them walking all over me whenever they wanted to. I put up my defenses, and...I had locked up my feelings and vowed to never release them ever since. Now that I'm growing up...I'm starting to realize that I shouldn't care whether they like me or not. I love myself, and that's all that matters. I may not be perfect, but that's what makes me beautiful. Understand?"

Arnie nods and smiles.

*BUZZ* Helga's phone vibrates in her pocket.

Arnold: **Wow. That took you long enough.**

Helga: **Why are you texting me? And what are you talking about?**

Arnold: **Look behind you… XD**

Helga: **Okay...I'm looking behind me and I don't see anything.**

Arnold jumps on her from behind. Arnie was laughing while holding his stomach.

"HEY! Arnold!? How could you do that to a person?!" She said while shoving him on the ground while sitting.

Arnold chuckled. "Because I felt like it."

Arnie chuckled. "Meet my cousin...he's a real pain!"

"Nice to meet ya **REAL PAIN** I'm Helga!" She shakes his hand.


End file.
